Michigan News
DTE Energy customers who participated in the energy efficiency programs the company launched in June 2009 saved $31 million in 2010, and can expect the steps they took to result in lifetime savings of $520 million. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/04/18/dte-energy-efficiency-programs-save-customers-31-million-in-2010/
MSU College of Human Medicine’s Secchia Center in Grand Rapids has been awarded LEED gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Energy savings for the building are projected to be 34%. The construction team was able to recycle or reclaim just less than 60% of all construction waste and about 40% of all building materials were manufactured by regional companies. Grand Rapids has about 72 LEED-certified buildings and there are about 140 total in West Michigan. http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2011/04/college_of_human_medicine_hq_earns_green_certification
Romeo Engineering and Technology Center is participating in the Renewable Energy Program offered by Energy Works Michigan. Around The Community recently highlighted how students at RETC are going green! http://vimeo.com/22031383 http://www.energyworksmichigan.org/renewable-energy-program
DTE Energy plans to spend $225 million to build its first wind farms next year. The three wind farms will be in Huron and Sanilac counties and will use 50 wind turbines to generate 108 MW. DTE plans to add about 1,200 MW of renewable power, half produced at its own facilities and half purchased from other companies.http://www.freep.com/article/20110414/BUSINESS06/104140467/DTE-aims-build-wind-farms
New Human Health Science Building will be Oakland University’s first geothermal heat pump installation, and it will include an innovative desiccant cooling system powered with what Oakland University says may be the largest solar thermal energy system in the Midwest. The project will also use variable refrigerant flow heat pump technology. http://www.metromodemedia.com/features/greenuniversities0207.aspx
ALTe Powertrain Technologies will form a joint venture with Inmatech, a spinoff from the University of Michigan, to produce and sell hybrid electric storage devices using lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors and control electronics. Combining Inmatech’s supercapacitors with lithium-ion batteries will enable longer life while reducing cost by as much as 40% for an equivalent-size battery. The joint venture’s applications will range from automotive batteries to grid power leveling devices. ALTe is initially concentrating on fleet vehicles such as taxis, delivery trucks, and shuttle buses. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110425/FREE/110429948#
Mackinac Wind Project has gotten the green light for 38 wind turbines that will be constructed in Rudyard Township while another 40 will be erected in Mackinac County’s Marquette Township. http://www.sooeveningnews.com/news/x1277013042/Local-officials-approve-of-EUP-wind-project
US Department of Agriculture is providing funding of $42 million in grants and up to $61 million in guaranteed loans nationally through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Funds are available to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses develop renewable energy systems, make energy efficiency improvements and conduct studies to determine the feasibility of renewable energy systems. Michigan USDA Rural Development will have approximately $800,000 for grant requests greater than $20,000; approximately $482,000 available for grants less than $20,000; and $1.6 million available for REAP guaranteed loans. Once the state allocation has been exhausted, unfunded applications will then compete nationally. Applications must be submitted to the USDA Rural Development State Office or Area Offices, no later than June 15. For further information contact the East Lansing State Office at (517) 324-5157.
Beyond Michigan
First U.S. Solar District, supported with $1 million in ARRA funding under DOE’s Solar America Communities program, was officially launched on March 18. District Energy St. Paul provided matching funds and now operates the system, which heats water using 144 solar collectors atop St. Paul’s downtown city convention center. The water heats the convention center and neighboring buildings in the hot-water district heating system which covers 80% of downtown St. Paul. http://www.districtenergy.com/publications/news.html
Celebrezze Federal Building in Cleveland, the 32-story glass-and-steel building built in 1967, is getting a second skin made of glass and aluminum. The new facade will stand 2.5 ft. outside the old exterior. Airflow between the old and new facade will insulate the building, yielding an estimated energy savings of $650,000 per year. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2063860,00.html
California was close in reaching its goal of 20% renewables by the end of 2010. The three major investor-owned utilities came in collectively a little under 18%. A bigger target is coming – 33% in 2020.
Principle Power, Inc. of Seattle is using $1.4 million in DOE funding to develop the WindFloat which will combine a floating offshore wind turbine platform with wave energy convertors. Principle Power’s prototype relies on a floating triangular platform submerged below sea level and anchored to the seabed by cables. The tower that supports the turbine is built on top of one of the columns that form the corners of the triangle.
Indoor Marijuana Cultivation consumes enough electricity to power 2 million U.S. homes, which corresponds to about 1% of national power consumption, according to a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. The study notes that cannabis production has largely shifted indoors, especially in California, where medical marijuana growers use high-intensity lights usually reserved for operating rooms that are 500 times more powerful that a standard reading lamp. http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/04/11/11greenwire-study-pot-growers-inhale-1-of-us-electricity-e-62219.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has come out with a new study that shows that 17% of the US imported oil for transportation could be replaced with American-grown biofuels from algae. http://blog.energy.gov/blog/2011/04/13/study-algae-could-replace-17-us-oil-imports
Events
Advanced Solar PV Electric Systems course will be held over 2 weeks from May 5-14 at Northwestern Michigan College. The 40 hours of in-depth solar training designed for licensed electricians, electrical engineers, and electrical apprentices prepare attendees for the NABCEP PV Installer Exam. www.nmc.edu/energy
Energy Conference and Exposition hosted by DTE Energy and the Engineering Society of Detroit will be held at the Suburban Collection Showplace (formerly Rock Financial) in Novi on May 10. In addition to 3 workshop tracks and exhibitors, MEDC President & CEO Michael Finney will speak at lunch. http://ww2.esd.org/EVENTS/EnergyConf.htm
Green Living Festival will be held on May 13-15 in downtown Rochester. Learn about green living and wellness, and healthy, eco-friendly products, services and programs. http://migreenteam.com/glf
Solar PV Electric Systems One-week Intensive course will be held on May 16-20 at Northwestern Michigan College. Learn the fundamentals of PV system design and installation. The optional NABCEP Certificate of Knowledge Exam is offered on May 21.www.nmc.edu/energy
Smart Grid Symposium will be held at the Dearborn Inn on May 18-20. www.ipu.msu.edu/programs/MIGrid2011
Great Lakes Energy Service has Energy Camps beginning June 13-17 http://www.greatlakesenergyservice.org/pages/camps.html
DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium presents the North Central Region Workshop on June 16–17 in the Detroit Metro Area.
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/consortium_nc2011_detroit.html
Michigan Energy Fair will be held this year on June 24-26 at the Mason County Fair Grounds in Ludington. www.glrea.org
2011 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, a global forum for power and energy professionals, will be held at the Detroit Marriott, Ren Cen on July 24-29. www.pes-gm.org/2011
2011 Annual Sustainability Conference will be held by Michigan Interfaith Power & Light and Center for Sustainability at Aquinas College at the Grand Rapids campus on October 5. Save the date.
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Source/Prepared by: John Sarver for Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (GLREA)
